Reminiscences of an old timer. A recital of the actual events, incidents, trials ... of a pioneer, hunter, miner and scout of the Pacific Northwest, together with his later experiences ... the several Indian wars, anecdotes, etc

Front matter

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Dedication

To My Aged Father, r

ILLIAM HuNTEI^

A Pioneer of the Northwest, a member of the Brotherhood -which especially encouraged me in placing before the public the story of my life ; a man ^A^ho, at seventy-eight years of age, still proves to be a loving husband, a kind father, and a square and charitable Brother — this book is respectfully dedicated by

Introduction

Reader, do not for a moment imagine that in these pages you will discover any literary gems, brilliant word paintings, or imaginary legends ; but rather the plain unvarnished story of the life, incidents and adventures of a blunt, uneducated man, who has ' ' roughed it " in the great Northwest from boyhood, and writes from memory only.

PREFACE,

In the compilation of the narrative contained in this work, the author has told in graphic language the history of his early youth and subsequent incidents that partake of more than ordinary interest. Colonel George Hunter, one of the band of pioneers whose advance to the slopes of the Pacific paved the way for the tide of emigration, has passed through a series of those hair-breadth escapes and adventures so incidental to Western life. At the solicitation of numerous friends the task of collating his reminiscences have been undertaken, and, although the present work does not pretend to any high literary effort, its contents can scarcely fail to be interesting, especially to those who have become identified with the events described.

The incidents relating to the migration of the Hunter family across the plains in 1852 will awaken many memories ; the earnest endeavors of young Hunter to obtain work, showing the indomitable spirit in the youth, that afterwards developed in the man, are minutely described.

Mining life in Shasta City district is vividly portrayed, and the arrival of the first white woman at the camp is viii Preface.

described with a minute detail that shows how welcome such a rara avis was in those days. Chapter V contains a stirring tale of the Rogue River Indian War of 1853, and the author, who participated with honor in that and other campaigns, details in plain language the horrible mutilations and cruelties practiced upon the dead hy the Indians. The conduct of the war against these Rogue River Indians was given to the noted veteran, General Joe Lane, and a high compliment is paid to Oregon's "friend" for services rendered then and up to the time of his death.

As a sequence to the narrative it follows that the hunting of grizzlies and other noble game is accuratelydescribed in these pages, and the exciting accounts of the chase and its results prove that Colonel Hunter was no mean nimrod.

A contrast between the aspect of the Umatilla ' ' Meadows" in 1855 and its present appearance is admirably portrayed, and it must indeed be a source of gratification to the old pioneer to witness the improvements that have been made in the land in which he took so deep an interest.

The events which led to the massacre of the worthy missionary. Dr. Whitman, to whom the credit belongs of saving Oregon and Washington Territory to the Union, are given in Chapter VIII, and the supposed causes which led to his death are discussed.

The lack of emigration and transportation retarded the development of the Walla Walla Valley, and Colonel Hunter after abandoning mining in the Shasta City

Preface. ix

district weut to Shoalwater Bay, engaging in the oyster business and occasional hunting trips.

The colonel was appointed sheriff of Pacific County about this time, and graphically describes his first arrest and how his prisoner escaped by jumping from the steamer that was conveying him to jail.

In 1 86 1 the Civil War broke out. Hunter and his wife's relatives ranging on the Union side, being strong ' ' Douglass Democrats. ' ' He bravely defended the honor of the flag in an attempt to lower it by some rebel sympathizers, and shortly afterwards resumed his old vocation of mining on the upper Columbia.

Wandering through the country, from Boise City to Snake River, the author became sick west of Salt Lake City, where, afraid to trust himself in the hands of the Mormon doctor, he was taken care of by the doctor at Camp Douglass and speedily regained his health under the kind attentions of a Mormon family.

In conjunction with a partner Colonel Hunter then carried the mails from Salt Lake to Virginia City, via East Bannack, and in this service again encountered the hostility of his old enemies, the Indians.

But the old gold fever was still strong and, when news of the strike at Kootenia in British Columbia came, our pioneer went with a party to seek a fortune. The enforcement of the rigid mining laws on British territory are narrated, and an illustration given of the respect shown by miners to their regulations.

X Prefacs.

In 1865 Hunter left Kootenia for Walla Walla, traversing the Pen d' Oreille to the Spokane, over the Snake River, and on to Walla Walla. That town, in 1863, was a "lively" place, and our pioneer soon had his hands filled with the task of regulating the bands of road-agents and Indians who were stopping travelers and robbing stages. Vigilance committees were organized in which he took a prominent part, and the disturbers were soon 'cleaned out" of the country

In 1877 the Nez Perces war commenced and Colonel Hunter tendered his services to General O. O. Howard, which were thankfully accepted. From the general he received the most considerate and kind attention, being in close attendance upon that distinguished officer throughout the campaign. The details of the outrages and practices of the Indians are given in full, and horrible indeed they are when narrated by an eye-witness of the scenes.

The war being over Colonel Hunter returned to his home to receive care and nursing at the hands of his wife, and upon recovering removed his family to Grange City. At a " pow-wow ' ' with the Indians, where he acted as interpreter to General Howard, Colonel Hunter was elected their chief.

The remainder of the volume is taken up in describing the many events of the years that followed the discovery of gold in the Columbia basin, and a humorous description of the author's first dabble in politics is given.

Becoming a member of the ' ' Grange ' ' Colonel Hunter entered into the warehousing business and still continues

Preface. xi

in that pursuit. In 1880 he was elected to serve in the Washington Territory Legislature, and his experiences and labors as a law maker proved that he served his constituents with honor.

It is now Colonel Hunter's intention to travel Bast in order to disseminate information about the great Northwest country of the Pacific Coast, a country which he helped to build up and for which he predicts a glorious future.

In conclusion I may add that the present volume is well worthy of perusal, not only to those whose interests are in that portion of the country described, but also to the class of readers who may be desirous of gaining some ideas of that vast and productive portion of the Union which, though scantily populated at the present time, is destined to become the home of a great and wealthy people.

GIDEON P. WOODWARD,

Manager Historical Pub. Co.

List of Illustrations.

Portrait of Coi.. Geo. Hunter Frontispiece

My First Friend and Teacher 3

One Ox Left on the John Days River .... ii

Off for a Rabbit Hunt 21

A Grizzly Bear in Camp — A "Tearing" Climb . 37

Miners in '52 49

Study's Ride 95

Mrs. Harris Defending Her Home and Baby . 107

Capture of Pu-pu-mox-mox 121

First Charge at the Battle of Walla Walla,

1855 129

Preparing to Rescue a Besieged Camp . . . .187

Burial of Slade in the Boise Basin 225

Holding up the Stage by Road Agents — To

the Front 259

The Scout and His "I^ittle Wonder" . . . .301

Pat Price Exposes the Cross 345

Timus, the White Chief of the Palouses . . 367

Chapter I

My Parentage — Birtliplace — Infancy and Boy hood — Early Recollections — In the Woods with a Lion — My First Earnings and How I Used Them — Incidents, Adventures, Trials and Sufferings in Crossing the Plains — The Cholera — Phrenology with an Ox-bow — She took My Arm — And I got hit — Warming up a Missouri Bed — Four Days Without Food — A-footin' Alone — Ragged and Sick — In a Strange Land Among the Indians — "Bilked" Out of My Earnings — A Mountain Chill with Accompaniments — ' 'A Friend Indeed. " i

Chapter II

On Foot from Portland to Yreka — Hunting odd Jobs to pay " Grub " — A Generous Family — "Eat, Dig and Chill" — Yreka in '52 — "Beef Straight" — Salt $1 per oz. — A Snow Blockade — A Successful Deer Hunt — "Rabbit on the Brain " — " Buckeye ' ' and ' ' Grizzly " — A Terrible Journe}' — " Razors in the Air" — Comrades Want to Die — Frozen Hands and Feet — Crippled Comrades — All for Gold 17

Chapter III

Shasta City in '53 — A "Rough Spoken," though Helpful Friend — A Letter of Introduction and its Results — Prospecting Old and Young Humbugs — A Grizzly Bear in Camp— A "Tearing" Climb— Why He Whistled— Nine Hundred Dollars in a Day — Caved in on and Breasted, while "Breasting" — Exhumed by Fellow Miners . ... 31 xiv Contents.

Chapter IV

Miners' Amusements — A Humbug Ditty — Dusky Damsels Sheltered ; or, " Bread Cast Upon the Waters ' ' — Suspicious Wearing Apparel — Reception of a Real Live Woman — Celebrating the Fourth of July — The Lawyer and the ''Sapling'' — "Stumped" while on Guard — The First Step Toward "Civilization" — The "Miner's Lament" — Captured by Indians — The "Waters Return I the Bread" — "Poor Man's Bar" — Withiji a Foot of ' a Fortune 46

Chapter V

The Rogue River Indian War of 1853 — Humbug and Yreka Boys to the Front — A Plucky " Siwash " — Well Heeled — Our First Scouting Party Surprised — Seven Killed, Seven Wounded, one Scared to Death — Five of Us Stand Oflf Two Tribes of Hostiles — A Scared Boy Wins Laurels Unwittingly — A Scared Man Sings While Fighting — The Fame (us) Song — Indian Atrocities and Tactics — A Disorderly "Git Thar' Quick" — The Wounded Man's Lament — Improvised Bandages — Burying the Dead — General Joseph Lane in Command — "Jerked Beef" — Volunteers' Sports — A Scouting Duet — A Foot-race for "Glory and the Brush " is Declared a ' ' Draw ' ' — Encouraging Pursuit — Eluding Capture — A Brave and Thoughtful Comrade 62

Chapter VI

The Volunteers Follow the Indians — " Coyote " Indian Dogs Betray their Owners — General Lane's Courage — A Hand-to-Hand Encounter with a Snake-like Foe in Fire and Smoke— Shot Through the Heart—" I'm Killed, Write! "

Contents. xv

— What Disabled My Gun — "Break This the Same Way "—Were the Sights Moved? — " Somebody Made a Good Injun " — A Broken Wrist the Result of Jubilation — Red Devils Surrender — Improvised Litters — Our Discharge and General Lane's Remembrance — Generosity of a Swan-{\^k.€) Woman — Ben Wright's Scouting Party — A Disabled Comrade Disables His Weapons and Sleeps^'\\h. Them — Collecting Back Dues — Three Times Licked — Brandy in the Fourth Heat — The Lassoed Grizzly and the Mule — How the Cook Brought in a Grizzly 8i

Chapter VII

Commencement of the Rogue River Indian War of 1855-56 — "Jump off Joe " — A "Friend Indeed " — A " Restless " Night — "You Don't Need Your Coffee, Mother" — An Unsolicited Escort — " Own up " — " Monkeying with the Escort ' ' — A Delusive Camp, and a Forced Go — " Put Back That Hat "—" There's a Mule Under Me "—A Rough Night March — A "Close Call " — Two Brave Women — The General Indian Outbreak of '55 — The Governor Calls for Volunteers — ' ' Go George! If I was a Man I 'd go with You" — The Muster — The Flag " Cayuse Principles " — Old Tried and True Friends — "Piecrust Promises " — Detached as Scout — A Joke That Worked Both Ways — Courtmartialed and Advised 98

Chapter VIII

The Indian War of 1855, Continued — Fort Henrietta — Scouting — Changes in Thirty Years — Wallula as it Was — The Capture of Pu-pu-mox-mox — Almost Entrapped — Whitman, Spaulding and Eels — Whitman Massacre — Doctoring Caused it 117 xvi Contents.

Chapter IX

The Battle of Walla Walla — A Four-days' Fight — Indiaii Warfare — First Blood — A Man for a Horse — The Battle- Ground — A Captain 's Ardor Cooled with Lead — " I 'm Killed too Dead to Skin " — All on Account of the Flag — The ProperTime to Come To — A Hand-to-Hand Struggle — They Killed Yellow Snake — " Murdered a Friendly Chief ' ' — Pope Paraphrased — Colonel Kelley's Question Answered by a Bullet — Elkskin Protects the Backbone — A Fatal "Bust " — Up a Tree — Bunch-grass Hats — Knocked Out by a Dying Medicine Man — "Nick" "Raised His Har " — Ambushed and Scalped — Governor I. I. Stevens . 129

Chapter X

The Indian War of 1855-56, Continued— A Thin Bill of Fare— A "Larder" Augments the Larder — As a Courier — A Scouting Party that Prefers Horses Spring a Well-baited Indian Trap and Have a Lively Run — ' ' Assisting ' ' a Tired Horse, and How the "Pills Operated" — Disabled and Furloughed — The Volunteers Discharged — United States Troops Defeated — Colonel Wright's Equine Bone- Yard— The Close of the War— The Results— The First <>£'?«« _/?flf^ Settlers, and Their Experience 143

Chapter XI

Selling Mining Ground — The "'Forty-Nine Song" — Off for the Sandwich Islands — Switched Off to Shoalwater — "The Bear Was Scared, I Wasn't " —Four Elk Out of One Band—' ' Heap Eat Meat, no Sick "—"A Close Call ' ' by a Mountain Wolf — Married to a Minister's Daughter — As Sheriff of Pacific County, W. T. — The Arrest of a Desperate Man — A Gun with a Big Bore — Suicide of the Prisoner — Recovering the "Bracelets" — As Lighthouse Keeper — " Froze Out and Busted " 152

Contents. xvii

Chapter XII

"Bully" Secessionist — A Widower With an Orphan Child— They Didn't "Haul the Old Flag Down."— Sold Out, and OfiF for Gold Dust— Old, Tried and True Friends —The Indian Trouble of 1862— A Scout Again— Bill White— "Dennis Will Stay Wid Ye's!"— An Indian Murder — Arresting a lyone Footman — Caution — His Short but Arousing Story — Cross-examination Convinces — A "Kick" About the Commander 165

CHAPTER XIIT. '

To the Rescue — A Cautious Night-March — A Wrong Route and a Rough One — "What Did We Come For?"— A Daring Ride — A Gallant Charge — Rescued — Mistaken Indians — Blessings — The Coyote, the Bird and the Horse — Raw Ox-Teams and How to Drive Them — A Grotesque Company of Volunteers — The Bloody Blankets Caused Him to Hang — Hunting Redskins — Found Their Nests — After Them in Their Own Way — No Use for Wounded Men 182

Chapter XIV

The Surprise Party and Adieu — Surrounded — Indian Signals Aid Our Escape — A Sudden Meeting — The ' ' Reduction ' ' — In a Tight Place — The Daring Ruse — An American Ambuscade Results in a Greater "Reduction" — A Comrade Wounded — A Detail for Venison Reports Eight Carcases, Six " Black - tails " and Two "Red -skins" — More Ruses — Discretion — We Got Away with ' ' Hide and Seek ' ' — A Very Brief Geological Opinion — Procuring Brain Food for Shriveled Stomachs — The Campaign Ends by Our Being Honorably Discharged 199 xviii Contents.

Chapter XV

Tribute to a Deceased Comrade — JNIining at Canyon City, Oregon — In the Boise Basin — The Ashy Combination of a Miner's Safe Fails to Work on the "Dead Man " — A Destitute Widow Among Strangers — The Hunt for Brothers — First Masonic Funeral in Idaho — A ]\Iasonic Donation Party — "Atoning for Cussedness " — "A Wild Goose Chase " — Caught Out by Mountain Fever— Hospitable INIormons — Simplicity — A Delectable Grass Widow's Account of Her Former Domestic Troubles. Wife No. 2 the Cause — "Bro. Brigham's" Decree — Too Much Drama — Mormon Samaritans — Pungent Suggestions on Sects and Professions — The Storj' of The Old Timer and St. Peter— The (Building) Rock of Salvation 216

Chapter XVI

Carr3dng the Virginia and Baunack Express — The McGruder I^Iurder — ' ' Vigilantes' ' — Our Prospecting Party — Unexpectedly Attacked — My Bedfellow Never Awakens — Myself Wounded — Unknown, and in an Unknown Grave — A Thirty-foot Fall Down a Shaft — A ' Wayfaring Trooper Gets "Underground" Aid — His Captain in Pursuit — They Bought Some Extras, "Because They Were Cheap." — ^The Trooper Volunteers to Look After Extras — 'Wayfarers — An "Introduction Scarcely Expected" — "Mosquitoes Had Something to Do With It" —Fine Trouting— The Trail to Kootenia— " All About Them 'Skeeters" — " A Bluffer Bluffed, on the Rim Rock" — Arrested In the Name Of "Her Majesty" — Documentary Evidence a Good Defense — British Law and Subjects — Ho For Web-foot — Oregon As It Was — Marriage Bells and Dutch Justice — The Cook — The Sweat Cloth and "Boston"— He Staid With the Bit 235

Contents. xix

CHAPTEP. XVII.

From Kootenia to Walla Walla in '63 — A Widowed Sister — Packing— Walla Walla in 1863-64— The Vigilantes— The Burnt River Road Agents — Stampeding Pack-trains — Holding Up the Stage — Innocent Men Four Years in Prison — The Guilty Party Squeals on His "Pal" — The Attempted Arrest of Two Boys — A Moneyed Party Scared — Entertaining a Road Agent — We Got Into a Hurry When he had Business in Auburn — More Vigilantes — Making a Father-in-L,aw of a Partner — At Washoe Springs — How the News of the Assassination of lyincoln Was Received — The Man Who Rejoiced, and What he. Did Afterward 255

Chapter XVIII

Afflicted with Stay-at-home-a-tive-ness — Disaster to the Pack- Train — Night Tramp in a Blizzard — Rescued — Designated by a " Pet Name " — No Apology Demanded — A Store at Blackfoot — Discovery — L,ibby Creek, M. T.-r-Traitorous Indians Murder my Father-in-Law and His Party, and Capture the Train and Cargo — Wounded, and Hid in the Mountains Twenty-one Days — Living on Huckleberries — The Lonely Grave — Eaten by Wolves — Rather Die Than Desert the Property — Epitaph — A Bad Neck Disease — Seven Thousand Dollars Worse than Broke — As a Blacksmith — As a Farmer — Working Out of Debt — An Overaverage Stake for a Settler — How we Opened Our Farms — A Tree Canvasser — ^The ex-Rebel Officer and His Cowardice — How he Fooled us 272

Chapter XIX

As D. G. M. and G. L., Oregon State Grange — Arraigned on Three Counts : ist. Not Guilty ; 2d, Guilty ; 3d, an Alibi — As Manager fo<r the P. of H. Enterprises— The Talkative Man with the Auburn Hair — The First Steamboat

XX Contents.

of the Season— "Mated"— That Whistle ; " I Heard It" — He Didn't Want To Be an Angel — How Joe Got a Scar — "Indian Billiards" — Shipping Facilities in the '70's — Navigation Developed — Changes in Twenty Years — An Immense County Segregated — Going Five Hundred Miles to Vote 285

Chapter XX

The Nez Perce Indian War of 1877 — How the News Spread Without Wires — Fleeing and Fortifying — Elected Captain of a Company of Volunteers Before Knowing of the Trouble — Some Lively " Rustling " — A Quick March — A Tender of Services to the United States — Armed — Jealousy Between Volunteer Companies — As a Guide — A Tricky ' ' Little Wonder ' ' — A Forced Night March in a Wet Snowstorm — An Army Captain in a Soiled Condition — Damaged in Action, but Hurt in the Mud — Soldiers Burying Comrades Some Days Slain — A West Pointer Foolishly Loses His ]\Ien — A Retreat From the First — Pursued — What I Know of a Camping Ground — General Howard "Tumbles to the Racket "---Why the Pickets Were Thus Posted — A Nervous Lieutenant Shoots a Sentinel — The Walla Walla Volunteers — A Company Scouting — Burned in Their Homes — Burjdng the Remnants of Settlers — Boating Under Difi&culties — My Proposed Scout . . 296

Chapter XXI

I Wanted to Know — No One Anxious for that Walk — He Could Run; But Didn't "Hanker for the Honor" — A Nervy Stock Man — Preconcerted Movements — "Captain, You are Spreading it on too Thick " — A Daring Descent — Postponed the Feast — Raised a Black Head, and I ' ' Covered It " — "Didn't Play Hog Worth a Cent " — Foraging ' ' After Garden Truck for the General ' ' — An Army Order — Another — Reconnoitering — A Hard Ride — General

Contents. xxi

Howard as a Fellow Scout — Was it a Trap ? — I Would Soon Know— Booty Captured Single Handed — The General Commanding Disobeyed Me — Had I Doubted His Bravery ? — Howard Said: "I Never Forsake a Comrade" — "He Can't be Left Alone in this Affair " — My Ideas on the General's Plans, Movements, Activity, Persistence, Determination, Forethought, and Devotions, Compared with Stay-at-home Soldiers 311

Chapter XXII

r Can Go Where You Can"— But He Had to Go Rather Slow — A Camp in a Wet Snowstorm — An Irritating Counter-march — Forethought — Dividing Rations With Regulars — A Pompous Quartermaster — Fight — A Fine Stock Country— On the Trails— A Flank Movement— A Forced March — Lieutenant Raines and Eight Men Killed — McConville's Company of Volunteers — General Howard's Order of Appreciation — Protecting a Command — "Shoot Down Your Horses for Breastworks" — The "Little Wonder" Works Wonders — Surrounded Soldiers Relieved — The Fight of the Gallant Seventeen — Captain Randall's Heroic Death — Some Others Mentioned "for Instance" — A Congressman's Son "Kissed By a Minie-ball— A Fool If he Did, A Coward If he Didn't— We Had Been Helpless All the While — As an Escort — "A Fool For Luck" — As Lieutenant-Colonel of Idaho and Washington Volunteers — Shot by a Member of the Command . 325

Chapter XXIII

In the Hospital — Nursing Wounds — The Kind People of Mt. Idaho— The First Shot of the Outbreak— Flying for Shelter—The Attack— Valiant Wounded— A Youthful Courier — Shot Through Both Legs Beside Her Dying Husband — A Young Lady Wandering for Refuge — Three Days in the Brush Naked with Her Babies — Stabbed by the Chief xxii Contents.

Because She Wouldn't Submit — Murdered Children — A Friendly Squaw — Fifteen Days in the Brush with an Arrow in Him — Her Father an Involuntary Witness — A Broken-armed Baby Girl Found — Pat's Catholicism Saves the Two Women — Witnessing the War-Dance over His Daughter — Other Indian Atrocities — Why They Cut Out the Child 's Tongue — The Fiends Pensioned ; Not So With Orphans — The Tongueless Supplication — Some Suggestions to Congressmen — Volunteers' Horses Killed — A Bad Story Regarding the Boys Cures Me — The Plain Facts in the Case — The Volunteers Sent Home in an Ambulance With a " Toney " Escort — Home Again, and Shelved. . . 341

Chapter XXIV

Slightly Disfigured, but Still in the Ring— What the Boys Did Next — They are Good Men Too — An Acknowledged Debt Unpaid — "Why this Thusness, " Who is to Blame — How Came Those People There — A Pretty Strong Precedent — A Shame and an Outrage — "The Remnant" — Volunteers First — Indians Don't Print their Edicts — The Courier— The Effect— "In One Time, " And That's What They Do — Then Come the Troops, And That's What They Do— "Why Not"— "Scarce a Voice"— " 'Twas Ever Thus" — Some Ideas of My Own — A Short Descriptive Sketch — A Golden Basin — An Evergreen Fringe — Rare Sport — Mountain Music — A Chance for You— And That's What Ails My Head 354

Chapter XXV

.-Vbout My Tribal Relations — General Howard in Council with the Palouses — Big Thunder — A Close Wa-wa — Again I am Elected to High Position Unknowingly — An Early Morning Tender of the Honor — An Indian Circle without Yells — Duly Installed into Office — " Timus, the White Chief of the Palouses "—They Must

Co7t tents. xxiii

Mind Me— The Sheriflf Didn't Make the Arrest— Two of " My Tribe " in Durance Vile— We Bailed Them Out — A Pony Present — How I Shipped Wheat — In Working- Dress— "The Old Man's On It, an' So's That Red Divil"— Entering Their Lands — As Expert — Transportation Furnished — The Way They Provisioned Me — " Kish-kish " The Contract Covered But One Drive — " Timus; Two Sisters; Kish-kish" — Quelling My Drunken Braves — Cus-cus — During the Smallpox Rage — They Would All Fight with Me 364

Chapter XXVI

Robinson ' ' The Bilk ' ' — Remarkable Specimens — Walla Wallaians on a " Wild-Goose Chase " — Bostonians Ditto — Cincinnatians Double Ditto — Was He a Fraud ? Don't Believe It — The Treasure Will Yet Be Found — Bewildered Men Can't Retrace Steps — Untold Millions Yet Uncovered — The Inland Empire Walled in with Ore — Resources of the Columbia Basin — What Develops the Mines — ^Twenty-five Years' Progress — Ten Years Hence — Transportation ; Wages ; Money — A Brief Resum^ of Our Mining Prospects — Moody's Story — Eleven Goldladen Miners Drop Dead on a Thirty-mile March — A Pure Mantle — Short Btirial Service — All For the Loved Ones at Home ^ 380

Chapter XXVII

Dabbling in Politics — As Candidate for the Delegateship — An Eloquent Opposition — An Orderly Chairman — "I Spoke a Little Piece " — Elected by Acclamation ; " Button-holed ' ' — Bracing Up a " Shaky ' ' Aspirant — " Didn't I Make a Good Play? " — My Reward and Their Reasons for Granting It — Our Consolation — Republicans Too Plenty — A Joke That Was Reversed — The "Fighting xxiv Contents.

Editor ' ' Was In — The Broken Cane ; ' ' Laying For Him ' ' — As a Second in a Duel — An Appropriate Dueling- Ground — The Fight Declared Oflf— He Stopped Carrying a Cane 392

Chapter XXVIII

The Bannack Indian War of 1878 — A Picnic Gotten Up by Uncle Sam's Pets — Playing With the Lambs — A Spread of Pork and Cheese — Un feathering the Nests — The Lunching Party Entertained — Two Days in the Brush With a Broken Leg — A Flirtation With the Troops — Careless About Leaving Their Address — Killing Teamsters — A Gunboat — George Coggan ; Had Killed an Indian — "I Give it Up" — Pope Paraphrased — The Battle of Umatilla — " My Tribe ' ' Stay With Me — They ' ' Evaporated ' ' — ]\Iow-itch and Couse — Clubs for Soldiers, But Cannon for Cow-boys — The Result 404

Chapter XXIX

"Vic" Trivett; His Dying Request Complied With to the Letter — Jack Vincent, Joe Crabb, Captain T. J. Stump, Captain John Stump, Captain Van Pelt, Captain George Sampson — A Temporary Reform, Or Why We Joined the Good Templars — Our Last Appearance — Captain J. W. Troupe, Captain Eph Baughman, Captain Easterbrook — What Worked the "Coldness," and How We Warmed It Up — A Romance in Two Pages — An Old, Tried and True Bride — After Sixteen Years 415

Chapter XXX

The Steamboats Boosted IMe, but the Railroad Knocked Me Down — In Politics — A Councilman — Why I Had Not Been There Before — Solid Advice; I Followed It — A Reference to the Late Senator Nesmith — Solid With

Contents. xxv

the Governor — Why I "Was Reckoned as Smart as Any Democrat — In Their Midst Before I Knew It — A Confidential Explanation — Ladies Biased For Home Production — Wisdom, Strength and Beauty, Wherein I Proved My Usefulness — The "Places of Public Resort" A Job On the Chief Clerk of the House— "It's Mesel That's not Loikin' the Looks av Yes" — " A Total Wreck " —Agent of the O. R. & N. Co— Defending My Wife's Property — She Slammed the Door in My Face — "Like Cures Like, or Kills — The Couch Prepared By Loving Hands — Offered $500 a Month; Declined — Why I Have Made This Inflection — A Safe Proposition — Busted — An Author's Trials 428

A SUPPLEMENTAL CHAPTER.

A Few Hints About the Northwest — Its Resources and Attractions .. »,. ... - ... 44^

APPENDIX o 455

Reminiscences of an Old Timer.

Chapter I

My Parentage — Birthplace — Infancy and Boyhood — Early Recollections — In the Woods with a Lion — My First Earnings and How I Used Them — Incidents, Adventures, Trials and Sufferings in Crossing the Plains — The Cholera — Phrenology with an Ox-bow — She took My Arm — And I got hit — Warming up a Missouri Bed — Four Days Without Food — A-footin' Alone — Ragged and Sick — In a Strange Land Among the Indians — "Bilked" Out of My Earnings — A Mountain Chill with Accompaniments — "A Friend Indeed. "